[DS] Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin

I'm optimistic. The Castlevania series (particularly in recent years, on the GBA and DS) has rarely disappointed. Two games, you say? Excellent.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Originally Posted by sprouticus

Could Soma move and attack at the same time in Aria, because I don't remember him being able to. I don't think any hero in any CV game could move and attack at the same time. I think the land canceling and all that stuff is good strategy and adds to the game. it makes it more difficult for you since you can't move, so you need to figure out better ways to do it yourself.

No, he couldn't. And no, no Castlevania game features any hero being able to attack and move at the same time, with the exception of the Valmanway. You say that you think land-canceling and all that stuff is good strategy, but I disagree. I don't mean to get into an argument, but in Castlevania, I find myself mini-jumping and attacking in the air a whole lot so I can keep moving while I'm attacking. Have you ever seen somebody in real life do mini jumps to cancel their stop-movement when attacking? No! What I'm talking about is intuitive strategy, not my ability to press buttons.

When programming enemy A.I. in a videogame, the developers have to take into account what the hero's attack limitations are. The more a hero can do, the smarter the A.I. has to be, and the less a hero can do, the less the A.I. has to do as well, so as to balance the difficulty out. What Konami has done here with Castlevania is put attack limitations on Soma so that the enemy A.I. has to do less.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Wow! I've just been back to these forums since the crash, and am now hearing lots of excellent news! Good to hear of an imminent next-cv release.. here's hoping it's 3D...

no not like the ps2 versions, but something akin to Maverick Hunter X. That would be damn nice. And a whole new system without Soma would be a nice break too.

:doggy: woof!

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

Well, Alucard could swing the Holbein Daggers and the Crissaegrim without stopping...but that's beside the point.

I would actually like to play an old-school Castlevania game. I hope one of them is a pretty straight forward game and the other is an adventure/rpg one. And playing as Julius. Finally.

All we need is a Grant-like Hammer and we've got ourselves CV3

I was speaking idiomatically.

Just to get this clear, i believe that "Dual Moons" was an April Fools joke. Portrait of Ruin is the only confirmed Castlevania title to be released anytime soon.

How ya doing, buddy?

Quote:

Posted by RABicle
More like Castlevania: More of the Same right?

I mean sure it'll be a good game, It's like a cake, even if you stuff it up it's still cake and still tastes good. But in ten years we wont be able to remember which Castlevania game was which or what order they came out in.

There's nothing wrong with more of the same, as long as each game lives up to the proper quality standards. The Megaman series sold on that concept for a while before Capcom stopped giving a shit and started having all their interns make the games.

Two concerns, though. There's a finite amount of space in the timeline, and eventually it's going to get to the point where someone's fighting Dracula every year, which would be a little silly. And, it would be nice if they expanded the environment past the castle for a change. It wasn't until Symphony that Drac's castle was anything other than the last level of the game. There's plenty of room for the same Metroid-style exploration in the outdoors, and it would let them vary up the environments a little more.

FELIPE NO

Vary the environments you say?

I'm willing to bet there'll be a clocktower, a ballroom, gardens and some kind of undergound sewer system.

Just a vague guess.

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

Good sir, I do believe you've just described a castle of some sort!

Jam it back in, in the dark.

I like how Dawn of Sorrow wasn't supposed to be set in Dracula's castle at all but apart from the urban setting at the beginning might as well have been. Well down at originality Konami.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Someone buy this and scan it for me please, I will not give you a dollar if you do!





I guess they're going to continue the BeybladePokemonDigimonYu-Gi-OhTotallySpies style art with DS and keep the awesome art for the 3D games that smell just a bit like poo.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Originally Posted by a_fist

I like how Dawn of Sorrow wasn't supposed to be set in Dracula's castle at all but apart from the urban setting at the beginning might as well have been. Well down at originality Konami.

Er, not quite. The ice village area inside the castle was pretty nice/unique. (unless that was what you meant by "urban" but I assume you were referring to the very beginning before entering the castle) Past that, it may as well have been Dracula's castle, though, because it definitely looked like it.

How ya doing, buddy?

Yes the ice village was my urban setting. It's like Konami laughed at their chance to offer something new.

I was speaking idiomatically.

Originally Posted by a_fist

I like how Dawn of Sorrow wasn't supposed to be set in Dracula's castle at all but apart from the urban setting at the beginning might as well have been. Well down at originality Konami.

I'm playing through Dawn of Sorrow right now. I don't think Castlevania games are very well if they aren't centered around some castle of some sort. As for them being the same, perhaps the same could be said of all religionsgames. A proper sequel takes the original, upgrades it, changes it around and makes it better. If I wanted to play some sort of Castlevania title that didn't have it's theme based in a castle, I'd play DMC3.

Konami is huge. Pop'n Music, Metal Gear, Castlevania, all Bemani titles, Goemon, Suikoden, the list goes on. I'm sure the team that focus on Castlevania can only do so much.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Quote:

Konami's ever popular Castlevania series returns to Nintendo DS in November, with the release of Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin.

Created by Koji Igarashi, who devised the long-running series, Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin gives the player control of two different characters. The pair – vampire hunter Jonathan Morris and Charlotte Orlean, a young girl with magical abilities – must work to thwart a plan to resurrect Dracula's Castle and unleash a reign of evil upon the unsuspecting world, all within a new World War II setting.

The new setting captures the chaos and suffering the era, with thousands of lost souls wandering the world in search of salvation. Desperate to escape the limbo within their exist, the misguided spirits seek to rebuild Dracula's Castle from its ruins, and are lead by a pair of evil Vampire sisters out to resurrect their master's home for their own nefarious plans. Thrown together, Jonathan and Charlotte must combine their unusual skill sets to defeat the plans and restore harmony.

Retaining the same 2D platform realms for which the series is famed, Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin uses a side-on view to oversee the scrolling stages. Players can switch freely between Jonathan and Charlotte as they progress through the levels, using their skills when appropriate. In addition to Jonathan's weapon expertise and Charlotte's spell-casting, both characters can utilise all-new 'Summon' attacks to raise demons to assist them against the Vampire sisters' army. Similarly, more conventional weapons can also be found on route, and saved for use against the hardier monsters that await in the shadows.

Featuring all-new locations and a cast of over 100 different adversaries, Castlevania: Portrait of Ruin marks a welcome return to the DS for the series. Igarashi's Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow has already enjoyed massive success for the format, and his new epic is certain to wow Nintendo users when it is released later in the year.

source: ds-x2.com

FELIPE NO

Originally Posted by Elixir

I'm playing through Dawn of Sorrow right now. I don't think Castlevania games are very well if they aren't centered around some castle of some sort. As for them being the same, perhaps the same could be said of all religionsgames. A proper sequel takes the original, upgrades it, changes it around and makes it better. If I wanted to play some sort of Castlevania title that didn't have it's theme based in a castle, I'd play DMC3.

AHA! CAUGHT!
You see Castlevania sequels don't take the orignal upgrade them and make them better. They ONLY change things around. Seriously. There's no better proof of this than the way we keep hearing ad nausem that while the new ones are good, "Symphonia of the Night was the best."

Welcome to the "Whatever I watch first is the favorite" syndrome. You see it alot with movie remakes. Whatever one you see first is always the best. I played Aria of Sorrow first and played Symphonia later. I can tell you with a straight face that I enjoyed AoS more than SoN. But hey, SoN was still a bloody good game.

For now I don't really mind Konami shuffling their 2D Castlevania card deck and calling it a new game but I'll be bored eventually.

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

Art looks a bit corny for my tastes, but I'll definitely be picking this one up. Dawn of Sorrow is still the best action title on the DS since it's release imo.

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Games Are Fun has an update with two (tiny) gameplay screens. Neither of which are in a castle-like setting, hey.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Well, the graphics look pretty good, and the gameplay will probably be good, but so far the it sounds like the story is gonna be the worst part. At least it's not that important to enjoying the game.

How ya doing, buddy?

Oh, come on, we're going to see canon Nazi Vampires.

Boom, best Castlevania ever right there.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

It seems Castlevania's art direction has been shaken up a little, I think Dawn of Sorrow had similiar art style. Bu the game was still pretty solid. I think the game will turn out fine.

I was speaking idiomatically.

The art for Dawn looked a lot worse than this. Well, not worse than that magazine cover but worse than the piece of art for the main character. IMO anyway. The locales look nice in those two screenshots. Hopefully the rest will look good too.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

What was wrong with Dawn of Sorrows' art?

Also, where are these screenshots of the newer games? I'm on 56k so I don't particulary feel like hiking off to other websites just for undersized preview shots of an upcoming game.

How ya doing, buddy?

It was boring art. The box art was like "GOTTA CATCH 'EM ALL" but everyone looked constipated. Image Shack'd!



Also for whatever reason, the purple dude reminds me of;


This can only mean Sega are developing Castlevania, run for the hills!

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

Boring art, unfitting art... there are plenty of ways to describe it. I loved the game but the art felt totally out of place.

Quote:

The box art was like "GOTTA CATCH 'EM ALL" but everyone looked constipated

That too.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

That second screenshot reminds me of the starting scene in Dawn of Sorrows.. I think? Or maybe it's just been too long since I last saw it.

Judging by the first screenshot, you can still fight as the guy while the girl is casting magic.. That will be cool.

How ya doing, buddy?